I'm Right Here
by PerpetualRetrograde
Summary: Zoro x Luffy.Do not read if you're homophobic. Potential death of their beloved captain has sent the Mugiwara crew reeling into depression. Zoro struggles to keep his thoughts positive. Of course I don't One Piece so don't even start that argument. And no relation to original story line.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of the seagulls darting through the grey morning air seemed almost melancholy. The soft footfalls of his boots accompanied the clacking noises her heels made on the cobblestone roads running between the houses of the abandoned town. Zoro glanced around the eerie silence. The decision to make a stop here had been a mistake. It had cost them dearly.

Nami was next to him, hugging herself in the chill. She seemed unfocused, hardly seeming to notice the heavily bleeding cut on her right shoulder. Her foot caught and she stumbled forward. With trained reflexes, he caught her before she fell but as soon as she regained her balance, she slapped his hand away angrily.

"I can walk by myself." Her tone was flinty.

Zoro shrugged and let her go. She turned on him with a newfound energy propelled by her own grief.

"Why are you so calm?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's dead. You know he's dead."

An edge entered Zoro's voice. "He's not dead, Nami."

"You saw the cave. It floods completely with water every three hours. There's no way he could have survived. He's like a rock in water."

Zoro stared out across ocean, visible through the gaps between the houses. He breathed in the comforting scent of the salt and seaweed, choosing his words carefully. This was why that idiotic curly-eyebrow was so much better at dealing with women. Nami was strong. But she needed comfort he couldn't give.

"Luffy…" he trailed off thoughtfully. The name released a flood of memories that washed through his brain like a tidal wave. Monkey D. Luffy who had pulled him down this path.

Monkey D. Luffy whom he loved

"I hate this."

He looked at Nami. She had hunched down to the ground, her hair like flames in the wind. She was a bright dot of color in this landscape of grey.

"Luffy is strong. Something as trivial as this won't kill him."

"You're always like that."

"Huh?"

She looked at him in the eye for the first time. "It's like the two of you share an understanding, and the rest of us are left out. I understand...but sometimes I'm jealous." A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Luffy taught me I didn't have to be alone. But even so...his closest bond is with you, Zoro."

"Hm." He didn't know how to respond, so he simply didn't.

Nami gazed miserably at her toes. "It's been three days. If he was alive he'd have come back already."

Zoro crushed the sliver of doubt that had managed to snake its way into the back of his brain. An image of Luffy's cold body floating in the darkness of the ocean flashed across his mind. He fought an urge to run straight back to those nightmare caves and search for his….

His what?

Lover.

_It isn't something so sweet. It isn't something so sentimental._

"He's not dead." Feeling like a broken record, Zoro continued to watch the little fragment of the sea. He heard Nami sniffle.

"Do you really think he's alive?" she whispered.

"Yeah… I'd feel it if he was dead. He'll be back and next thing you know he'll be eating all our provisions for the next three weeks."

Nami managed a small laugh. She could easily imagine Luffy bursting into the kitchen and demanding food. Sanji would complain but prepare the inhumanely large meal anyway.

_Sanji! Meshi!_

Her voice caught in her throat. Her strained laugh dissolved into tears.

"Luffy," she sobbed into her hands. "Luffy…"

_You're my nakama_

Zoro's hands clenched into fists.

_Luffy...you better not be dead_


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in his life Zoro found himself having trouble falling to sleep. He rolled over on the worn wooden floor feeling the discomfort blossom through his chest as he struggled to close his eyes and keep them closed. Five days had passed since Luffy had left to scout the island. There had been no sign of him and he could tell the crew was slowly beginning to lose hope. He could see it in the way Robin never seemed to flip to the next page in her book. He could see it in Usopp's halfhearted attempts to push fun with Chopper whose eyes were always teary. Curly-eyebrows was sluggish and only made the most minimal of efforts to insult him. Nami was always preoccupied and barely came out of her room. Brook played nothing but ballads that merely exacerbated the dark mood pervading the ship until Nami forced him to stop. Most concerning however, was the fact Franky actually put on a pair of pants.

And him?

He couldn't sleep.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. He sat up. The yawning emptiness Luffy's absence had left was slowly pulling the crew apart. He grabbed a set of weights and started to lift them methodically, hoping to distract his mind with physical exertion. He was going to train to exhaustion and hopefully fall unconscious at least for a couple of hours.

"One," he barked.

His thoughts wandered against his will. _If _Luffy never came back. In such a case would their crew be able to survive?

"Five."

_Luffy, where are you? We're all waiting._

"Ten."

He cursed his inability to concentrate. Throwing the weights down angrily, her grabbed his swords and yanked open the trapdoor of the Crow's Nest. He couldn't sit and wait. It wasn't his style. Despite the circumstances a grim smile spread across his lips.

"I'm becoming more like you every day Luffy," he smirked into the silence.

The deck was empty except for an increasingly depressed skeleton hunched against the mast. His skull clacked against his neck bones as he looked up as Zoro passed.

"Zoro san? Where might you be going?"

"To find Luffy," he growled in response, leaping onto the edges of the ship.

"You're so determined it sends chills down my skin. Although I don't have skin to get chills down. Yohohoho…." Brook's laughed trailed off and dissolved into a heavy sigh.

"Zoro san?"

"Hn?"

"Please find Luffy san."

Zoro tightened his belt around his swords. "You don't need to tell me twice."

The island filled with dank mist. Zoro glanced up at the sky and predicted it to be early afternoon although he couldn't see the sun very well past the clouds. Like his mood they broiled over the landscape like angry bruises. He sprinted lightly and silently down the road him and Nami had walked down earlier, squinting to see past three feet.

The overall layout of the island wasn't necessarily complicated. The Thousand Sunny was docked at the cliffs on the north side the island. A few miles away the abandoned village spread out across a 12 mile radius. All the buildings and houses within were made of industrial material and appeared to have been bombed from the inside leaving only a fine residue of ash. The history of the island was unknown to them and Zoro could not bring himself to care.

Past the village was nothing but rocky terrain. In attempts to replenish their dwindling food supply, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, had volunteered to scope out the land. They had found the entrance to the underground where a complicated maze of caves had awaited their speculation. They had entered a particularly perilous section of the paths connecting the caves where the surrounding rocks looked as if they might crumble any second. Here Luffy had told them to go back.

"I'll be back soon," he had said before disappearing into the darkness.

When he hadn't returned for three days Nami and Zoro had gone back. What they found was the entrance completely filled with ocean water. They had screamed themselves hoarse down the blackness but Luffy had never appeared, confirming their worst fears.

Now staring down at the ominous gap in the ground Zoro wondered if he should cut the entire island apart instead of searching the snaking passageways. Then he rejected the idea. If the passageways crumbled on top of Luffy then what? It would take longer to find him beneath the tons of earth and rock, especially if he was unconscious.

Zoro started down the rusty ladder pushing into the darkness. He wasn't too worried however as the first time he had went they had found a strange crystal growing on the tops of the caves, illuminating the abyss with a soft bluish light. As his feet hit the bottom he immediately set off towards the right confidently.

_Wait Captain, I'm coming for you_

…..

In minutes he was lost.

"Where am I?" he asked into the empty space. His voice echoed back to him. Everything looked exactly the same. Rocks. He was so sick of them.

"Luffy!" she shouted as he continued walking. "Luffy!"

He had no idea when the tide would come and flood the passageways. He could hold his breath for a while but even so it was a risk he would rather not take.

"Oi, Luffy!"

Ten minutes elapsed into fifteen. Then thirty. Zoro's building panic combined with his initial frustration and he slammed his fist into the wall.

Immediately, the wall crumbled away leaving a gigantic dent. Zoro's jaw clenched. He was running out of time. He glared at the impressive dent in the wall. Luffy would have found a way to survive. The question was how. Luffy was not exactly sharp. He moved on instinct. Zoro stared at the narrow space of the passageway and envisioned it filling with seawater.

_How? How would you do it?"_

_Just break it apart_, he would reply. And laugh. Like nothing mattered. As if problems didn't exist.

Break it apart.

The walls. The dent. Water.

Zoro grinned. He drew back his fist and hammered it into the rock face. When the rubble cleared away he had left a clean space.

Big enough say, for a boy to squeeze into

He started to run down the passageways. He just had to find where he had last seen Luffy. Despite his directionally impaired mental map he would find Luffy.

He would find the Captain and bring him home.


	3. Chapter 3

The seawater had started pouring in a few moments later. Zoro cursed as the freezing liquid surrounded his ankles, quickly climbing to his knees. He was in the middle of a narrow passageway. The caves were miles behind him. The sea would not wait.

Cursing, Zoro sloshed a few steps back then thrust himself at the rock wall in front. The material came away easily, crumbling to powder in seconds. Hoping that the ground above was solid enough to hold, he crawled into the hole he had created and hunched down in an uncomfortably close position. Turning his back to the rushing water, he made sure that his body blocked the entrance to his small cave so the water would not come flooding in.

He waited.

He could feel the water tugging at his backside, cold tendrils trying to pull him down to a murky death. Although his burrow filled with a few inches of water from where he couldn't block, his head remained dry. Minutes passed. Zoro started to perspire, the tight space closing down on him.

_How long did you stay like this? Were you scared Luffy? If it's you probably not huh?_

He allowed himself to fade into a state of half-sleep and half-awareness. He didn't like staying still because it allowed his mind freedom to wander into half forgotten memories he would rather keep buried deep within his other thoughts. Thoughts of Monkey. D. Luffy filled his head.

_Where are you?_

He didn't know how long the water raged past him. But when he felt the waves recede he immediately slid out into waist deep water. He had no time to wait.

Following the water's path, he made his way into yet another complicated network on stone paths. It was only then that Zoro realized he had no idea how to get back out. Then again, he had more or less moved in a straight line. Luffy also always moved in straight lines. If they turned back and went straight then would they not end up where they started? Then why wouldn't Luffy have done so in the first place?

As the tangle of thoughts continued to wrap around his mind, Zoro stumbled. Preoccupied, he had failed to notice the path getting rougher, large rocks strewn in his path. His hand shot out to grab the wall when it fell into something soft.

"What the—"

Zoro scrambled backwards, one of his swords half drawn. The wall loomed before him, the rock face interrupted by a gaping hole, half filled with rubble. Dangling from the edge of the entrance was a hand. Zoro's heart leaped.

"Luffy!

Throwing down his swords, he started to dig through the rocks, not caring if his fingernails bled. Luffy's name pounded in his head syncing with his heart beats. Finally, he uncovered an arm, a leg, followed by bare feet.

Zoro pulled Luffy's limp body into his arms and carefully laid him on the ground. He ripped off his robe and wrapped it around Luffy tightly.

"Luffy." He anxiously shook Luffy's shoulder, peering at the still face. "Luffy, wake up! C'mon! Luffy!"

Luffy's eyes remained closed. Zoro pressed his ear to Luffy's chest. He heard nothing. Panic gripped him like a vise, tightening in his lungs until breathing became a concern.

It had been sheer luck that brought him to Luffy; a prayer answered from a God he never believed in. He had somehow convinced himself Luffy was invincible. He had believed Luffy would never die. He had been a fool.

"Luffy…" he brought the cold body into his arms. Pushed that precious head into his chest. Clutched the limp hands like a lifeline.

"I should never have let you go alone. I'm sorry Luffy," he said huskily. His voice was heavy. Grief weighed down on his chest. He leaned his head against the wall, stroking the small back.

"…Zoro."

The movement against his chest had been slight but his eyes flew open, all senses alert. It had been a whisper; barely audible even in the echoing silence of the caves. But it filled his heart with a euphoria he had never known.

"Luffy?"

"Zoro." Luffy's eyes fluttered open. They seemed dazed. "It's Zoro right?"

Zoro held back tears. It had been so long since he last cried. "Finally awake captain?" he managed shakily.

"I'm cold." Luffy shivered underneath Zoro's clothes.

"It's because you're wet. Here, take them off."

Zoro tugged off Luffy's vest and slid of his jeans. Bruises and small cuts decorated Luffy's arms and legs, his feet especially cut up. Bundling Luffy's now naked form against him, Zoro dropped a small kiss on Luffy's head. His damp hair tasted salty.

"What was that for?" Luffy asked weakly. "I'm not a kid Zoro."

Zoro rubbed his large hands against Luffy's skin, hoping it would warm him up. "We have to get you back to the ship Luffy. Everyone is worried to death."

"Haha…Brook is already dead."

"He'll be depressed if you start stealing his lines."

"Heh. How long was I gone?"

"Five days."

"Wow…Nami will get mad at me. Na Zoro," Luffy took Zoro's hand and placed it between his legs, "rub me here."

"Luffy…"

"I'm cold Zoro. Warm me up."

Zoro didn't need further encouragement. He kissed Luffy gently on his upturned forehead then moved down to his lips. Luffy's moans echoed against his tongue, throat vibrating underneath his touch. Zoro's hands wrapped skillfully around Luffy's hardening cock, his thumb playing with the flushed tip. Luffy's tongue intertwined with Zoro, pushing itself against Zoro's teeth and sliding across the sides of his mouth.

Luffy came with a small shudder. Zoro licked the wetness from his palm.

"Zoro…inside too," Luffy gasped breathlessly.

"Demanding today aren't you Captain?"

Zoro laid Luffy on the ground. Luffy grabbed his clothes and tucked them underneath his head, pillowing it. Zoro's robes lay opened before him, Luffy's pale body teasing him. Flushed with his lust, Zoro grabbed Luffy's foot and gently pressed his lips against the bleeding cuts.

"What are you doing?" Luffy breathed. "Hurry up Zoro."

He leaned over Luffy on all fours kissing the smaller boy again. His lips slid down to the side of Luffy's neck, tongue flicking over his adam's apple.

"Ah…"

"Luffy!"

A cry broke into their concentration and Zoro instantly withdrew, his body stiffening. Luffy sat up quickly, drawing Zoro's robes over himself as the green haired boy grabbed his swords. Nami and Sanji entered the passageway holding a bright lantern in front of them.

"Nami! Sanji!"

"Luffy!"

Nami collapsed in front of Luffy and hugged him. "I'm so glad!"

"I thought you would find him first Marimo," Sanji remarked as the two watched Nami fuss over then get angry at Luffy. "The tide will be back in about two hours so we should get back up."

"Do you know the way back?" Zoro asked standing.

Sanji held up a ball of yarn. "it's called intelligence and foresight you directionally impaired Marimo head," he said smugly, more or less back to his normal self.

"What'd you say!?"

"Wanna go?"

"Zoro! Carry Luffy! Sanji! We're going!" Nami interrupted. With a last glare at each other, Zoor bent down allowing Luffy to climb on his back while Sanji started to move back the way they came. Nami picked up Luffy's wet clothes and followed, trailed by Luffy and Zoro. Despite the interruption, Zoro enjoyed having Luffy cling to his back.

"Zoro"

"Hn?" he replied as he stepped over a rock. Sanji was joking with Nami about something….

"I'm sorry."

"Bout what?" he asked gruffly.

"For worrying you." Luffy's head fell against Zoro's shoulder, his eyes closing. "I'll make it up later…kay?" he said sleepily.

"Okay."

But Luffy was already asleep. Zoro repressed a smile and shifted the precious cargo on his back into a more comfortable position.

_Geez…what a high maintenance Captain_


	4. Chapter 4

Zoro woke feeling something heavy on his chest. The crew had partied from Luffy's return to the early hours of the morning despite their insufficient supplies. Now the ship was silent, all its occupants asleep from drinking a little too much and eating more than they could handle.

In the semi-darkness of the Crow's Nest, Zoro could make out a tangled head of black outlined by the early morning light. The figure leaned over. Two obsidian eyes blinked at Zoro.

"Luffy?" Zoro whispered, voice scratchy from sleep.

The figure stiffened, confirming its identity.

"What are you doing?" Zoro groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"I told you I'd make it up to you didn't I?"

Zoro was wide awake now. He was suddenly very aware of Luffy's legs planted on either side of him, straddling his stomach. He could feel his Captain's weight rubbing down on his crotch. Zoro struggled to get up.

"Stay still Zoro!" Luffy pushed him down. Despite his slender build, Luffy was inhumanely strong and he clearly had no qualms about using his monster strength against his first mate.

"Luffy…".

Luffy ignored him. He bent down and placed his upper torso to Zoro's prone body, gently nipping at the sensitive skin behind Zoro's ear. Zoro felt Luffy's tongue slide down his throat and onto his naked chest. He recalled that in a drunken haze he had thrown his robe somewhere to the side.

"Luffy…stop!" Zoro growled.

Luffy backed off and looked down at Zoro in confusion. "You can't get it up or something?" he asked, rubbing his ass back and forth. Zoro could barely suppress a moan as the material of his pants rubbed against his cock.

"Don't… mess with me."

Zoro grabbed Luffy's waist and flipped him over to the ground. He had fallen asleep near the entrance to the Crow's Nest so Luffy's head accidentally knocked against wall.

"Ow…" Luffy rubbed his head gingerly.

"Sorry." Zoro pulled off Luffy's vest. He sucked Luffy's nipple, feeling it harden beneath his teeth.

"You don't sound sorry…oi that tickles." Luffy cocked his head and extended his foot towards Zoro. "Take my pants off for me too."

"You bastard." Zoro bent over and unhooked the clasp of Luffy's jean shorts.

"Nah, Zoro."

"Hn?"

"You want to become the world's best swordsman right?" Their conversation was punctuated by a harsh kiss, lips pressing together so hard it hurt.

"Yeah?"

Zoro slid his hand down the front of Luffy's shorts, not wanting to take them off quite yet Luffy shivered at the contact, a slow blush creeping to his face.

"If this ship wasn't on the way of achieving your dreams, would you leave?"

Zoro froze. His hand slid out of Luffy's pants as he sat back on his heels, regarding Luffy with irritation.

"…Zoro?"

He suddenly jerked Luffy's shorts and underwear off, the momentum sending Luffy crashing against the wall a second time.

"Ow!" Luffy yelped.

Instead of apologizing, Zoro tackled Luffy to the ground and bit down on hard on the skin between his shoulder and neck.

"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy lifted his head from the ground and glanced down at the green hair brushing the tip of his nose. He patted the broad back in protest. Zoro ignored him and sucked hard on Luffy's skin.

"Oi, what the hell? Zoro!"

Zoro finally detached himself and sat back, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. A large red hickey appeared on Luffy's shoulder. Zoro grabbed Luffy's face in his hands and squeezed his cheeks.

"This coming from the person who pulled me down this path!" he snapped.

"Sorwy?" Luffy mumbled with difficulty from his puckered lips.

Zoro slid his hands down Luffy's chest, drawing in his scent. "I never planned being a pirate but it's not a bad thing. But if you told me to leave…" He brushed back Luffy's hair and pinched the boy's flexible skin experimentally. "I would probably leave."

Luffy stared at Zoro. He grabbed the swordsman's wrist.

"Sorry, I've got no intention to let you go," he said seriously.

Zoro smirked. "Heh. I've got no intention to leave either."

Zoro tugged Luffy's legs towards him and wrapped them around his waist. He leaned down and lightly kissed Luffy's shoulder where he had left the hickey.

"Anyway, if I wasn't satisfied with being the Pirate King's right hand man, then where would I go?"

Luffy grinned. "Shishishi! You got that right."

….

_I want to own you_

"Lift your hips Luffy," Zoro gasped. His right hand teased Luffy's front while his left loosened his back. Luffy's arms tightened around Zoro's neck as the first mate's tongue slid down his abs.

_I want to get stronger so I won't have to leave you_

"As expected of a rubber man…you're getting used to this fast," Zoro laughed hoarsely, his fingers making scissoring motions in Luffy's ass.

"Ah…shut up." Luffy moaned as Zoro's fingertips rubbed against his prostrate.

_So keep moving forward Monkey D. Luffy_

Zoro tilted his head to meet Luffy's lips. He pulled his fingers out and loosened the front of his pants.

"Haha, so you can get it up," Luffy gasped. Zoro kissed him again as he slowly lowered himself onto Zoro's weeping erection.

"Christ, you're tight."

Luffy began to move up and down as Zoro grabbed him around the waist. Zoro felt as if his entire existence had melted to the single point of connection between their bodies. Driven with lust he pushed Luffy down to the floor and started to thrust faster, pumping Luffy's cock in rhythm with his movements. They kissed again; wet, sloppy, and awkward, but so hot their lips were on fire. Breaths mingled. Their hearts hammered against their ribs.

"Nngh.." Luffy rested his arms over his eyes. Zoro pulled his legs onto his shoulders, thrusting his length deeper into his captain's insides. He was rewarded with a low moan.

"Na, Zoro," Luffy gasped through the haze of simultaneous pain and pleasure, "If I told you to die…ha…would you?"

Zoro's lips quirked into a half-smile. His earrings swung forward as he came inside Luffy. Luffy gasped as he felt Zoro's warmth flood his inner walls.

"Ha...ah...Don't...fuck with me Captain."

_ Move Forward Monkey D. Luffy and I'll follow you until the end_

**Omake**

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy grumbled. He was examining the large hickey on his shoulder. "What the hell is this for? Everybody will see it."

Zoro was sprawled out half-naked across the floor. He turned his head lazily.

"Oh that. I was marking you."

...

"Maybe I should go get them," Chopper said thoughtfully, glancing up at the Crow's nest. The Crew was sitting down to a late breakfast and the absence of the noisy Captain and the moody first mate was achingly noticeable.

"Leave them alone Chopper," Nami said, flipping to the next page of the newspaper. She took a sip of coffee. "You might get splattered."

Chopper's eyes widened. "Splattered?"

"With white stuff," she replied matter-of-factly. She snapped the newspaper shut. "Sanji and Franky, we're setting off to the next island today. The Log Pose set a while ago."

"Suuuuuuper," the blue-haired cyborg cheered.

"Yes, Nami-swan!"

The early afternoon light flooded into the Crow's Nest of the Thousand Sunny throwing light on two peacefully sleeping faces. Luffy twitched and rolled over, his hand slapping Zoro's chest. The older boy barely twitched. It was just them in the small space, under a single blanket that barely covered their entangled legs.

_I'm right here, next to you_


End file.
